Setup
Setup should take about fifteen minutes, and will prepare the group for one Season of the narrative, which takes about two hours to play through. Inspiration First off, what kind of game does the group want to play? Really think about that, and discuss it as long as you need to. Maybe look over a list of possible story themes, and when something jumps out at you point it out. Something where, as soon as you see it, you know deep in your gut that it interests you, that it's something you want to explore. The ideal theme is a neutral one that everyone in the group has something to say about. So intead of "corruption," "power" would be a better theme. Got one? Cool. Now list six things that hinder that theme. Record the six items in the corner on the sheet of paper to be used as the Map. Examples: '' *''theme: survival; hindrances: hunger, thirst, pride, danger, disease, disorder *''theme: righteousness; hindrances: greed, lust, pride, anger, laziness, fear'' *''theme: heroism; hindrances: cowardice, fear, panic, weakness, slothfulness, idealism'' The Situation Set a blank sheet of paper in the center of the players to be used as the Map during play. As a group, and speaking from your (as yet uncreated) characters' perspectives, answer the following question: *Why are we here? This answer defines the Situation. It should be a tangible event that the characters will have to respond to immediately, as a group, as soon as the narrative starts. It should also be something that takes them out of their normal lives and places them in a location that they're unfamiliar with, a location that is confined but still has plenty of mystery and offers plenty of opportunities for exploration. *''Our plane crashed on a deserted island.'' *''The Queen just trapped us in the normal world with a curse that erased our memories of the fairy tales we lived out.'' Write the sentence describing the situation at the top(?) of the Map, leaving the rest of the page for the actual Map. Major Characters Now, give each player a blank piece of paper and a pen. Individually, each player needs to answer the following questions from their character's perspective: *Why am I here? *Do I want to be here? Why or why not? *What do others think of me? *How do I wish they felt about me? *What is my name? What are some of my notable features and characteristics? Record your character's name and features at the top of the page, with the other answers added below. Leave room for expansions on each answer. *''I am here because I was the pilot of the plane.'' *''I don't want to be here because I have family back home that I want to to get back to.'' *''Others see me as a liability.'' *''I wish they saw me as worth having around.'' *''My name is Russ; I have medium-length gray hair and a weathered face, with piercing blue eyes.'' *''I am here because I gave the Queen the curse to use to send us here.'' *''I do want to be here because my son is here somewhere, and I want to find him.'' *''Others are afraid of me.'' *''I wish they respected me.'' *''My name is Mr. Gold; I have sharp facial features, and I walk with a slight limp.'' Once all of these questions have been answered, it's time to launch into your first actual session of play. We'll start by leting the characters get to know each other a bit. Which should be anything but boring :).